Teen Tribe appears to be more punishment of spoiled white privilege through hardship and isolation. Here, however, they are sent to live as different indigenous tribes do; in other words, their “punishment” is to live the customary lives of the Other.

Yet even with a literature replete with warning, we find ourselves enacting weird efforts to attract the opposite sex on our own with Axe body sprays, faux perms and balayage, Forever 21 sales, and Tinder profiles. Call them “Love Potion Lite,” protection against our own insecurities. It’s a kind of Cinderella complex–without the duds, no ball.